by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

He didn't get to jump into his catcher's arms like most pitchers do in that situation.

Instead, he had to wait until his teammates scored an unlikely run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Marlins a 1-0 victory against Detroit.

Alvarez held the Tigers â?? and a pretty much representative lineup for an otherwise meaningless game on the final day of the regular season â?? without a hit, but Justin Verlander and two relievers kept the game scoreless into the bottom of ninth.

Luke Putkonen entered in the ninth and gave up consecutive singles to Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison plus a two-out walk to load the bases â?? then threw a wild pitch to make the no-hitter official.

Alvarez was waiting to bat in the on-deck circle.

But instead of having to pitch a 10th inning, Alvarez ran to the plate to join the walk-off celebration.

"I was ready to go back out there for the 10th inning, but I'll take that wild pitch," he told Fox Sports through an interpreter.

By rule, a no-hitter must be a full game, however long it lasts.

In 1995, Pedro Martinez pitched nine perfect innings for the Montreal Expos against San Diego. That game was scoreless until Montreal scored in the top of the 10th, but Martinez allowed a double in the bottom of the 10th so did not get credit for a no-hitter or perfect game.

There was no suspense about a perfect game for Alvarez because he hit Prince Fielder with a pitch with two out in the first inning. The only other Detroit baserunners were Jose Iglesias, who reached first with two out in the fifth inning on an error by Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, and a two-out walk in the ninth to Andy Dirks.

The only big name missing for Detroit is third baseman Miguel Cabrera, given a day off in anticipation of the Tigers' AL Division Series that begins Friday at Oakland.

Alvarez, 23, was one of the players acquired last off-season in a 12-player trade with Toronto

He has a 5-6 record this season and is 15-23 lifetime with the Marlins and Blue Jays.